As the Californian grape season kicks off, Australian importers are looking forward to the implementation of a new quarantine protocol for the product that is hoped will allow a resurgence of the trade.
As of mid July it appears Australian authorities have settled on a revised protocol which allows cold sterilisation at -0.5°C for six days in place of methyl bromide fumigation for the treatment of spotted wing drosophila, or vinegar fly.
The new protocol will mean Californian grapes will be able to hit the Australian market with better quality, and critically leave fruit with the shelf life to be shipped by sea, rather than entirely by expensive airfreight.
“Volumes almost halved with methyl bromide – I’d expect them to go back to over 2m cartons with sea shipments,” said Neil Barker of BGP International.
The change is a particular boon for white grape varieties, which had been largely cut out of the Australian market because of their sensitivity to methyl bromide fumigation. Importers also hope a cold sterilisation protocol will allow them to bring in new high-end Californian varieties to trial on the Australian market.
Meanwhile, Australian access for US stonefruit is continuing to prove elusive.
US stonefruit has been expected to gain access to Australia ‘soon’ for about four years, and earlier this year the industry was optimistic a protocol would be in place within the 2012 season.
As of July that protocol has not shown any signs of eventuating. “One day it’s going to be there, then the next day it’s not,” Garth Lockyer of Valleyfresh Australia told Produce Plus.
According to the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, the current technical discussions for the protocol are looking at methyl bromide fumigation, which would significantly curtail the opportunities in the Australian market.
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